new banner

I've been trying to design a banner for the top of this page... help! I can't get it right. I don't have Photoshop or anything like that... I've been editing things in Photobucket and testing them out. They end up looking like... well, looking like I edited them in Photobucket, haha. If you have an idea, please let me know!

yummy sunday dinner

I was tooling around the internets yesterday, looking at blogs I hadn't visited before. I came across this post and decided to try the soup and biscuits. I am so glad I did! Hubby and I had an awesome dinner tonight. The only change I'd make is to reduce the salt I put in the soup a little. The pan biscuits were AY- MAY- ZING... crispy on the outside and soft and tasty in the middle. Yum!

it's snowing! part deux

It's still snowing... more pictures from outside my home!

it's snowing!

Um... somebody needs to tell whoever decides the weather that it's only October 9th. It's SNOWING here at my house! And sticking to the ground! (I actually don't mind... I think snow is beautiful, plus I don't have to be anywhere tonight or tomorrow.) Isn't it pretty?

I love how the camera flash reflects the light from the snowflakes. Above and below are views in front of my house.

Above is the view of the deck behind the house. Below is the railing and you can see the snow accumulating.

I love feeling warm and snug in my own house with the fireplace lit and snow falling outside!

i really don't have to do it myself?

Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. My mom and stepdad are coming for a short visit tomorrow. My in-laws are coming next weekend. And I've been so busy at school that the house is a wreck: cluttered, messy, dirty, gross, disgusting... you get the picture.

That's the problem. The solution? A cleaning service! I've never had someone clean my house for me before... it's a very novel idea. Hubby was not happy about it because it means spending money. But for me, it's definitely money well spent. I don't have to clean tubs or toilets? I don't have to vacuum floors? I don't have to mop the kitchen? LOVE IT!

I called a local cleaning service. The nice man on the other end asked me what kind of cleaning I wanted. A general clean? A spring-clean type of deep clean? I told him I wanted a My-Mother-is-coming-this-weekend-and-my-Mother-in-law-is-coming-next-weekend type clean. He laughed. I wasn't kidding.

Luckily, he correctly deduced I just need a general clean. There's really no time for a deep clean, anyway. So a cleaning team is coming this morning and all I'll need to do is declutter. Which is a massive job in and of itself. Wish me luck.

project list update

Two posts in one day after several weeks of nothing? Fabulous. :)

In the wake of my Christmas happies from the last post, I've decided to revisit my project list, originally posted about here and here. Before I add lots of Christmas projects to my plate I want to make sure I've done enough justice to the last list. Here's the updated version:

•use cute brown fabric to make a skirt (I realized I didn't have enough of the brown fabric, so this is being deleted.)
•turn plaid dress into skirt (I cut the skirt part off the dress and lost my nerve. I'll get it back eventually and finish this project.)
•chair cover for classroom with owl print flannel (DONE)
•finish my large size Starling bag (Still in progress.)
•punch needle owl kit (Put away for now. It's not high priority for me, although I'm looking forward to eventually completing it!)
•messenger bag (DONE)
•recycle an old pair of jeans into an apron (DONE)
•Make a fabric basket for my teammates to hold back-to-school goodies. (DONE. Although I didn't make the baskets; I made different things for each teammate to enjoy.)
•Make a fabric cover for my planner/to do list for the school year. (DONE)

So... justice done! I still need to finish the Starling bag but other than that I'm going to put the other things away. Christmas, here I come!

sleigh bells ring, are you listenin'...

Ahhhh... I love the holidays! I know it's only September, but every year I swear I'm going to start my holiday crafting early so that I'll actually have the chance to make all the things I want to make.

I've been so busy with school that I haven't had time to think about anything else, and I really don't have the time now! But, the other day in the mail I got one of those monthly book club offers and the first book they want to send me is a Christmas book with crafts, recipes, and gifts to make. I actually already have one so I (probably) won't buy this one, but I went digging for mine (it's made by this company) and bookmarked all the things I love in there.

I cut out a few of the pictures from the catalog I got on this new Christmas book to use as an inspiration board of sorts. You've been looking at three of my favorites! I plan to wrap presents in simple white paper and embellish with ribbons and such. The advent calendar is simply beautiful; I've been looking for a pattern for a couple of years now. Plus, who wouldn't love Chocolate Chip Cheesecake squares?? Yum.

busy busy busy

Three days of school down, a depressingly huge number to go until summer comes back around.

Crafting time has been cut to nil and lesson planning time has increased exponentially.

No time for more than this right now.

Garage sale scheduled for Saturday to make some money to spend at crafty stores to replace the crap I'm selling. Hubby is thrilled. :)

simple cookies

I've had these cookies from Skip to my Lou on my Favorites list for several months and finally got around to making them. I used Betty Crocker's French Vanilla Cake Mix and added milk chocolate chips to them. They're pretty good! Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.


Hubby and I have already had a few... each. :) We're supposed to take them to a friend's for dinner tonight; I hope they last!

fix it!

This is one of my most favorite SNL skits. I just love the Fix It guy. You have to wait until the last two minutes of the sketch, but it's well worth the wait, in my opinion.